Friday, October 04, 2013

SFFS Hong Kong Cinema ’13: A Complicated Story

It
was supposed to be a simple temp job. A mainland university student in dire
need of money agrees to be surrogate for an anonymous couple of considerable wealth. However, when Liu Yazi’s Hong Kong employers mysteriously
cancel the contract, her maternal instincts kick in with full force. She might
be a country naïf, but Liu will not be easily intimidated by wealth and
privilege throughout Kiwi Chow’s A
Complicated Story (trailer
here), which
screens during the San Francisco Film Society’s annual Hong Kong Cinema film
series.

For
Liu, carrying the mystery couple’s child is about the only way she can pay for
her older brother’s operation. She will temporarily defer her education, as she
lives in luxurious isolation. Liu sees almost nobody except the couple’s doctor,
her personal assistant, and Kammy Au, the lawyer who overseeing the entire sort
of legal arrangement. After befriending
the young woman, Au is forced to break the bad news to her: the divorcing couple
demands she abort her pregnancy.

Not
inclined to cooperate, Liu seeks out her own medical advice, which leads to the
first of several revelations. Liu in
turn will surprise her minders when she slips away, finding shelter at a
combined women’s shelter-medical clinic. It turns out the father, Yuk Cheung,
is not such a bad guy. Tracking down Liu, he makes it clear he intends to do
the right thing. He and she just happen
to have very different ideas of what the right thing might be. On the other hand, his ex-wife, actress Tracy
T, is the sort who always makes matters more difficult.

Complicated probably sounds
like sudsy soap opera fodder on paper, but its execution is admirably
restrained and archly observant of HK social dynamics. It could also be the
year’s most pro-life film without an overtly religious agenda, but third act developments
will still limit its appeal to the Evangelical market. Regardless, in terms of
emotion, it certainly lives up to its apt but nondescript title.

Helmed
by first-time director Chow with nine colleagues from the Hong Kong Academy for
Performing Arts’ film masters program contributing as crew, Complicate was conceived as a
foot-in-the-door career calling card, but it looks far more polished than most
American pseudo-indies. Obviously,
executive producers Johnnie To and William Kong (producer of Hero, Fearless, and Crouching Tiger) lend it all kinds of credibility, along with
marquee movie star Jackie Cheung.

No
mere celebrity cameo, Cheung’s considerable screen time as Yuk is unusually
disciplined in its understatement, yet deeply powerful. Likewise, the strong but not showy Liu should
be a breakout role for Zhu Zhi-ying (who was excellent in the little seen Zoom Hunting). Still, it is Stephanie Che who ultimately
defines the film with her richly complex performance as Au.

Granted, there are times when Chow’s adaptation
of the Yi Shu novel (co-written with three other screenwriters) seems to be
throwing out plot points just to force the drama. Nevertheless, it is rather nuanced in its
social criticism, portraying upward social mobility as well as inequality. Featuring great turns from Che and Cheung, as
well as a lovely slightly-more-than-a-cameo from the great Deannie Ip, A Complicated Story is one impressive “student
film.” Recommended for those who appreciate complex relationship and social
issue dramas, it screens this Sunday (10/6) at the Vogue Theatre, as part of
the SFFS’s annual Hong Kong Cinema series.

About Me

J.B. (Joe Bendel) works in the book publishing industry, and also teaches jazz survey courses at NYU's School of Continuing and Professional Studies. He has written jazz articles for publications which would be appalled by his political affiliation. He also coordinated instrument donations for displaced musicians on a volunteer basis for the Jazz Foundation of America during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Send e-mail to: jb.feedback "at" yahoo "dot" com.